A more colloquial understanding of a meme is best understood when considering it analogous to "an inside joke" or "esoteric reference." The former of these two analogies comes into play more so when dealing with online culture. The nature of online trends provides for a more intellectual relation between peoples to compensate for the lack of human-human contact. Pictures, videos and (minimal) text allow for the creation of often humorous creations that are immediately relateable and redistributable. Thus, the more this recognized object is observed and passed on the more potent the meme becomes. Sometimes it will achieve viral status and become quickly known throughout a large population of online users across a broad base of online venue types (message boards, forums, chat, facebook etc.). Memes can be referential to a subject and to themselves and can result in an increasing complexity of producing a network of references to each other and related to a subject matter.
History
Often, imagery and text are often combined in ways that are immediately relateable and
A dictionary definition of "meme" would yield a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manneranalogous to the biological transmission of genes.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/meme
A more colloquial understanding of a meme is best understood when considering it analogous to "an inside joke" or "esoteric reference." The former of these two analogies comes into play more so when dealing with online culture. The nature of online trends provides for a more intellectual relation between peoples to compensate for the lack of human-human contact. Pictures, videos and (minimal) text allow for the creation of often humorous creations that are immediately relateable and redistributable. Thus, the more this recognized object is observed and passed on the more potent the meme becomes. Sometimes it will achieve viral status and become quickly known throughout a large population of online users across a broad base of online venue types (message boards, forums, chat, facebook etc.). Memes can be referential to a subject and to themselves and can result in an increasing complexity of producing a network of references to each other and related to a subject matter.
History
Often, imagery and text are often combined in ways that are immediately relateable and
Some of the early memes
some of the more famous
some of the less famous
Current
"sup dawg"
Data/Research
know you meme . com
Opinion
my favorite memes
Future Trends?